Shift in subsistence crop dominance from broomcorn millet to foxtail millet around 5500 BP in the western Loess Plateau.

ABSTRACT: Broomcorn and foxtail millet were the most important crops in northern China during the Neolithic period. Although the significance of broomcorn millet in human subsistence exceeded that of foxtail millet during the early Neolithic, this pattern was reversed by the end of Neolithic period. However, the process underlying this shift remains unclear. The recent excavation of the Gedachuan (GDC) in Zhangjiachuan county has revealed an abundance of relics including millet crop remains from relatively continuous strata of the Yangshao and Qijia cultures, and therefore provides a unique opportunity to examine how and when foxtail millet replaced broomcorn millet as the dominant crop in the western Loess Plateau during the Neolithic period. In this study, we identify 1,738 and 2,686 broomcorn and

SUBMITTER: Yang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9362993 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature